Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Whoever invented this should win an Oscar, or a gold medal, or the Nobel prize or something. 'Cuz this is AWESOME!!!!!Craving chocolate, but don't want to make a whole cake or pan of brownies? All your problems are solved! This is a chocolate cake you can make in a coffee mug, and most people have all these ingredients on hand anyway. Try it; it'll be the neatest thing you'll do all year! I'm not kidding. You'll thank me for this one.

Personal chocolate cake in a coffee mug4 tablespoons flour 4 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons cocoa 1 egg 3 tablespoons milk 3 tablespoons oil 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) A small splash of vanilla extract 1 large coffee mug Use the largest coffee mug you have. Mix dry ingredients in mug. Add the egg, and mix thoroughly. Add milk, oil, and vanilla (and chocolate chips), and mix thoroughly again. Cook in the microwave on high for 3 minutes (the first time you make it, place it on a plate in case it spills over). VOILA! Your chocolate cake is done!Isn't this the coolest thing ever??

Friday, February 13, 2009

We're doing this in MOPS next month, so I made a sample the other day. And now, you too, can do it. It didn't take me very long, maybe 30 minutes total. Here's the final product:To start out, get all the supplies ready. You'll need an artist's canvas (flat or with a wood frame, flat is cheaper. I got this at Walmart, a 3-pack for under $6. This is a 12x16 size, that's all our MOPS budget will allow. I recommend you make a much bigger one!), enough fabric to cover it (for me, that was 1/3 of a yard), some quilt batting, ribbon, and glue (a glue gun, gorilla glue, super glue, E6000 glue, or liquid nails), and a stapler.Step one: cut 2 or 3 pieces of batting that are the size of the canvas. Don't worry, they don't have to be exactly the same size.Step two: Lay canvas on top of fabric and cut it so that you have an extra 1 1/2 to 2 inches on each side of your canvas.Step three: Lay your fabric piece on the floor or table. Place the batting in the middle of the fabric. Place the canvas UPSIDEDOWN on top of the batting. Bring the fabric over the back of the canvas and glue it down. Pull each side tightly. Press and hold till the glue dries a little.Here's Ethan "helping" me glue the fabric down.Step four: use some extra glue to hold down those pesky corners.Step five: Turn the board over. Cut ribbon and place it where you want it to be on the board. Make sure you have about 2 inches (or more) to glue onto the back.I chose to do this design; you can place the ribbon whereever you want it.Step six: Turn board back over and glue down your ribbon. Pull it tight!Step seven: Cut another piece of ribbon the length you want for hanging it up on the wall. Staple it to the back of the board.Here's how it looks on the back when you're all done. But don't worry, the front is super cute.Step eight: Stand back and admire your handywork! Fill your memo board with pictures of your adorable children (like mine), or with grocery lists or whatever. Hang it on the wall, preferably near your front door. That way, everyone who comes in your house will say, "My, how lovely. Where did you get that?" And you can humbly say, "That? Why, I made it," and they'll be in awe of you.